Automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit

ABSTRACT

An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls comprising an external perforated enclosure in which a fan, an electrical motor, and a re-chargeable electric current source are arranged. A microthermostat switches on the fan at a predetermined temperature. An electrical supply unit is provided for re-charging the electrical current source during the periods of inoperation of the device.

United States Patent Tomiati Au 26 1975 [54] AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL DEVICE FOR 3,603,765 9/1971 Underwood 219/222 FORMING AND DRYING HAIR CURLS AND 2; r 553 u cr.... :gfT ELECTRICAL SUPPLY 3,693,636 9/1972 Tomiati 132/33 R [76] Inventor: gmbertol'litimiggi, Filippini 19, Primary Examiner G E McNem emna m l Attorney, Agent, or FirmGuido Modiano; Albert [22] Filed: July 16, 1973 Josif [21] Appl. No.: 379,520

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data J I 21 l 972 It I 8495O/72 An automatic electrical devlce for forming and drying u y a y hair curls comprising an external perforated enclosure in which a fan, an electrical motor, and a reg? 132/33 chargeable electric current source are arranged. A mi- 42 33 crothermostat switches on the fan at a pre-determined 1 le 0 g 'f' 1 5 temperature. An electrical supply unit is provided for re-charging the electrical current source during the References Cited periods of inoperation of the device.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 3,377,715 4/1968 Hubner 219/370 AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL DEVICE FOR FORMING AND DRYING HAIR CURLS AND THE RELATIVE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY UNIT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit.

Devices for forming hair curls are known by the name of curlers and usually consist of a cylindrical perforated mesh body around which the locks of hair to form the curl are wound.

Curlers are already known which internally comprise a fan operated by an electric motor and which allow energetic internal drying of the curler in addition to the external drying normally obtained by means of a hairdrier which emits a current of dry hot air.

These curlers of known type are connected permanently during their operation to the external electrical supply mains by electrical connecting cables which, besides considerably hindering the normal operations of the hairdresser, may give raise to short circuits and faults with obvious danger to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of this invention is to obviate the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a device for forming and drying curls which is completely independent of sources of external electricity during its operation.

A further object is that said device comes into operation automatically when predetermined temperatures of the environment in which it is situated are reached.

A further object is that said device is equipped with an apparatus for re-charging its own sources of electricity during periods of inoperation.

A further object is that said device consists of simple structural elements of reliable operation and of low production costs.

These and further objects which will be more evident hereinafter are attained by an automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit, comprising an external perforated enclosure substantially of cylindrical form around which can be wound hair to form a curl, a fan consisting of an electric motor and an impeller disposed in said enclosure and arranged to create a forced air current involving at least the hair wound around said enclosure, at least one re-chargeable electric current generator disposed in said enclosure for supplying said electric fan, means suitably arranged to automatically control at a predetermined temperature the supply of electric current from said generator to said fan, an electrical supply unit arranged to house simultaneously a plurality of said devices for re-charging said generators of electric current during the periods of inoperation of said devices, support means for said generator and said fan in said enclosure, and means for establish electrical connection by contact between said generator and said electrical supply unit during the re-charging of said generator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more evident from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of an automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a first embodiment of a device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through a second embodiment of a device according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section through a third embodiment of a device according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7, 8, 9 are sections through three electrical supply units according to the invention, suitable for recharging the batteries of the devices shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the device according to the invention comprises an external enclosure 1 of substantially cylindrical perforated configuration on which hair locks are wound for forming a curl.

In one end of the enclosure 1 there is a base member 2 of insulating material which is connected to supports 3 which support a pair of re-chargeable batteries 4 and 5 and the motor 6 disposed internal to them.

Advantageously, supporting members 3 make a snug fit inside said enclosure 1. Similarly, in turn, the motor and batteries are inserted in said supports members to a snug fit. To one end of the motor 6 is connected the impeller 7 and to the other end a microthermostat 8 which in its turn is connected to the batteries 4 and 5 by way of a metal strip 9 which connects said batteries in parallel. Microthermostat 8 may be substituted by by an electric circuit means comprising transistors and a thermistor.

The strip 3 may be reached from the outside by way of a hole 10 formed in the base member 2 so as to enable the batteries to be recharged without extracting them.

The second electrical contact for re-charging the batteries consists of the metal ring 1 l disposed in that end of the enclosure occupied by the batteries and connected electrically to the outside edge of both batteries.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a device according to the invention.

It differs from the first in that the generator consists of a single battery 4 located at the end opposite to that occupied by the motor 6. Separate supports 12 and 13 are provided for the battery and motor. The charging of the battery 4 takes place by direct contact of its poles with corresponding contacts of an electrical supply unit. Battery 4 may be of a type having a substantially disc-like structure.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a third embodiment of a device according to the invention. A single battery 4 is provided with a cavity within which the motor can be housed. A sealed corrosion resistant protection barrier separates the motor from the battery. The microthermostat 8 is interposed between the motor and the battery to the side of the motor.

In this case the re-charging of the battery 4 also takes place by direct contact between its poles and the corresponding electrical contacts of an electrical supply unit.

F lGS. 7, 8, 9 show three electrical supply units for recharging the batteries of the devices shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

They comprise at least one cavity 14 within which can be housed an enclosure 1 and differ one from the other only by the different disposition of the electrical contacts which correspond to the different positions of the contacts of the batteries of the three embodiments of said devices.

It is thus possible to re-charge the batteries without the need to extract them from the body of the curler.

Said electrical supply unit is provided with a timer to avoid charging the battery for longer than the predetermined time and a relay voltmeter which prevents the batteries being double charged by mistake.

From the description the operation of the devices according to the invention is evident.

The microthermostat 8 is so calibrated as to make the electric motor 6 and relative impeller 7 operate only when a pre-determined temperature is reached, namely the temperature which is normally reached inside a hairdrier.

The requirement for a microthermostat or device functionally equivalent thereto should now be emphasized. In fact, should this device be omitted, it would become necessary to switch the fans on before the curlers are inserted within the hair, thus drawing more current from the batteries, since it is impossible to precisely locate the fans to be energized when the curlers remain concealed under the hair, and especially so when a large number of curlers are in operation.

The drying of the hair thus takes place in an extremely efficient manner with consequent improvements in the formation of the curls, without any danger to the user.

The invention so conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications all of which fall within the scope of the inventive idea.

Moreover all details may be replaced by other elements technically equivalent.

In practice the materials used and dimensions may be chosen according to requirements.

I claim:

1. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit, comprising an external perforated enclosure substantially of cylindrical form around which can be wound hair to form a curl, a fan consisting of an electric motor and an impeller disposed in said enclosure and arranged to create a forced air current involving at least the hair wound around said enclosure, at least one rechargeable electric current generator disposed in said enclosure for supplying said electric fan, at least one microthermostat connected between said generator and said fan to automatically control at a predetermined temperature the supply of electriic current from said generator to said fan, an electrical supply unit arranged to house simultaneously a plurality of said devices for re-charging said generators of electric current during the periods of inoperation of said devices, sup port means for said genemator and said fan in said enclosure, and means for establishing electrical connection by contact between said generator and said electrical supply unit during the re-charging of said generator.

2. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a pair of batteries disposed at one end of said enclosure and connected in parallel by means of a strip element and in which the motor of said fan is disposed between said batteries, said strip element constituting one of the poles of electrical contact between said batteries and said electrical supply unit during the re-charging stage.

3. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for establishing electrical contact comprise a metal ring disposed on the inside of one end of said enclosure, said ring being connected electrically to the outer edges of said generator.

'4. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a battery disposed at the end of said enclosure opposite the end in which the motor of said fan is located.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a battery comprising a cavity arranged to house the motor of said fan.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that said generator consists of a re-chargeable battery having a disc-like structure.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said electrical supply unit comprises a timer device arranged to limit the re-charging time for a battery and a relay voltmeter arranged to avoid erroneous successive recharging.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that said electric motor, said at least one microthermostat to automatically control the supply of electric current, and said electric current generating unit are mounted to a snug fit within said supporting members, said supporting members in turn, being mountable to a snug fit in said enclosure and lockable therein. 

1. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit, comprising an external perforated enclosure substantially of cylindrical form around which can be wound hair to form a curl, a fan consisting of an electric motor and an impeller disposed in said enclosure and arranged to create a forced air current involving at least the hair wound around said enclosure, at least one re-chargeable electric current generator disposed in said enclosure for supplying said electric fan, at least one microthermostat connected between said generator and said fan to automatically control at a pre-determined temperature the supply of electriic current from said generator to said fan, an electrical supply unit arranged to house simultaneously a plurality of said devices for re-charging said generators of electric current during the periods of inoperation of said devices, support means for said genernator and said fan in said enclosure, and means for establishing electrical connection by contact between said generator and said electrical supply unit during the re-charging of said generator.
 2. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a pair of batteries disposed at one end of said enclosure and connected in parallel by means of a strip element and in which the motor of said fan is disposed between said batteries, said strip element constituting one of the poles of electrical contact between said batteries and said electrical supply unit during the re-charging stage.
 3. An automatic electrical device for forming and drying hair curls and the relative electrical supply unit as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for establishing electrical contact comprise a metal ring disposed on the inside of one end of said enclosure, said ring being connected electrically to the outer edges of said generator.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a battery disposed at the end of said enclosure opposite the end in which the motor of said fan is located.
 5. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said generator consists of a battery comprising a cavity arranged to house the motor of said fan.
 6. A device as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that said generator consists of a re-chargeable battery having a disc-like structure.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said electrical supply unit comprises a timer device arranged to limit the re-charging time for a battery and a relay voltmeter arranged to avoid erroneous successive re-charging.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that said electric motor, said at least one microthermostat to automatically control the supply of electric current, and said electric current generating unit are mounted to a snug fit within said supporting members, said supporting members in turn, being mountable to a snug fit in said enclosure and lockable therein. 